Aviation Students Participate in Day@Envoy

Omaha – This invitation was a result of a 2-year partnership between the Aviation Institute and the Envoy Air Cadet Program, formerly called the Pilot Pipeline Program. The Program gives aviation students a direct pipeline to pilot for a major airline. In the program, students can interview for a first officer position beginning their sophomore year. If successful, they receive a conditional job offer upon graduation and after meeting the other licensing requirements begin their career as a professional pilot with Envoy with a direct flow from Envoy to American Airlines.

Day@Envoy took place in Dallas, Texas, and began with a chartered flight from Omaha on an Embraer 145 provided by Envoy. At the same time, First Officer Terry Roehr was making his way to Dallas for work. Terry was the first UNO Aviation Institute student to successfully complete the Cadet Program.

The first tour was the Ramp Operations Control Tower at the Dallas Fort Worth Airport. The ramp tower controls the flow of aircraft into and out of the gates, and deals with emergency, weather, and delay situations. The tour was given by Mr. Matthew Eggers, UNO Aviation Institute alumnus 1995 and 2002; and managing director of the DFW Control Center. During the tour, the American Airlines system went offline which sent workers into overdrive. It was a real world learning experience for the students on the tour.

The second tour was the Integrated Operational Control Center, which houses the airline’s dispatch, meteorology, maintenance control, crew scheduling, flight planning support, load planning and crisis management, and is known as the heartbeat of the airline.

The group then visited the C.R. Smith Museum which contains the history of American Airlines, a rare Douglas DC-3 aircraft, and educational exhibits including Flightlab, which educates people on how and why airplanes fly. This was followed by a tour of the American Airlines Flight Academy. The pilots among the group yearned to fly the million dollar simulators housed in the Academy, but time did not allow this, not to mention the simulators already being occupied. The final tour was of Envoy Air’s Headquarters.

The aspiring pilots in the group got to see an example of the type of facilities they will train in and to speak with instructors; and other aviation students got exposure to the variety of other exciting careers available with an airline. The Day@Envoy was truly a one of a kind opportunity for the students of the Aviation Institute.